Despite the expectations that it will arrive next month, new reports suggest that the iPad mini 5 will not see the light of day this year nor in the future.
Its successor, the iPad mini 4, was released with the iPhone 6S in September last year, but in the years before that, Apple launched previous iPad mini iterations in the month of October.
This is why the iPad mini 5 is expected to arrive next month. However, it is being said that Apple has no plans to launch the device at all.
However, the latest research of reputable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, where he outlined Apple's plans for the iPad line up to 2018, makes no mention of the device.
Kuo stated that the iPad Pro 2, a new 10.5-inch iPad and a low-cost 9.7-inch iPad will be released next year. He also said that, in 2018, Apple will make "radical" changes in the design of the iPad lineups.
The analyst did not speak of the iPad mini 5 and did not even confirm its existence. According to Macrumors, the Cupertino-based company is looking to discontinue the tablet line.
It is said that the reason for this is that the Plus versions of the iPhones, which are smaller than iPad mini units by only 2.4 inches, are starting to defeat the tablet's purpose.
Apple is clearly upgrading Plus iterations of its smartphones in a big way. The company made the dual camera setup exclusive to the recently unveiled iPhone 7 Plus.
This could suggest that the tech giant is making efforts in giving distinguishing features to both the standard version and the Plus version, with the latter getting the bigger upgrades.
It is unclear if this has to do with the possible ditching of the iPad mini 5. There is also no confirmation regarding the tablet's fate.
Either way, the lack of updates or credible leaks about the iPad mini 5 shows that the iPad mini 4 is most likely the last in the small tablet family.
